Chapter 303: Making Friends Trait

"Wang Lei and his wife have both confessed to what they did. Now it’s your turn."

Master Fuli put down the branch he had picked up, took hold of the butterfly knife previously gripped by the Fox King, and began twirling it in his hand, grinning wickedly.

"I’ll give you three seconds to decide. Otherwise, Master Fuli will carve decorative cuts into your Fox Joy!"

The fennec fox, as Wang Ya’s pet, should be far more aware than Wang Lei and his wife of what happened to Wang Ya before her transformation.

Through the account of Wang Ya’s mother, Qiao Yu, the truth could already be faintly glimpsed.

Wang Ya most likely encountered ancient spirit relics or burial artifacts during an archaeological expedition, triggering her mutation into her current half-human, half-scorpion form.

To restore Wang Ya to her former state, we must clearly understand the process of her transformation—or apply to the Anquan Bureau for expert technical support, if we hope to succeed.

"What is Fox Joy?"

The fennec fox, startled by the strange words, turned to Master Fuli and asked.

But Master Fuli said nothing—only raised a finger toward the base of the fennec fox’s tail.

The fennec fox flipped upside-down in midair, looked where Master Fuli pointed, and instantly turned pale with shock, staring at him in horror.

"Carve decorative cuts and eat sashimi? Are you insane? Are you Hannibal reincarnated? Are you even human?"

"I’m a fox, damn it!"

"."

Master Fuli and the Fox King exchanged a glance, silent for a long moment.

"If you agree to one request, I’ll tell you everything that happened to Wang Ya," the Fox King said, voice trembling with reluctant submission under the threat of the gleaming butterfly knife.

"Speak," An Sheng said.

"I demand protection as a lumberjack—even if I end up in prison, I refuse to let Wang Ya visit me!"

"?"

Hearing the fennec fox’s words, An Sheng’s fox face twisted in confusion, but whatever lay between the fennec fox and Wang Ya might be another matter entirely, so An Sheng said nothing and simply agreed.

"Wang Ya was injured."

"The day before her transformation, I smelled blood on her left hand. She was terrified, as if she’d witnessed something horrifying."

The fennec fox fell silent for a moment, as if hesitating whether to reveal Wang Ya’s secret—but when it saw Master Fuli standing upright, it sighed and said:

"There was something embedded in Wang Ya’s left hand—like a worm, like a stone—fused with her flesh, as if drilling into her body. When she returned home, she locked herself in a hidden room and tried to cut it out with a knife, to pry it from her palm."

"But it had little effect. After more than half an hour of effort, she wanted to call the police or an ambulance—but then, as if possessed, her body froze rigid in place. That night, black skin began growing on her."

"Within a week, she became like this. I used electronic devices, pet voice buttons, and free online voice tools to lie to Wang Lei and his wife, convincing them it was a fox spirit’s curse."

The fennec fox reluctantly spoke, recounting what it had witnessed in the dorm room.

That day, Wang Ya returned in a panic, talking on the phone with classmates.

But that was three years ago—the fennec fox only vaguely remembered her mentioning ancient tomb security traps.

The exact details, the fennec fox did not know.

But it knew someone had gone missing that day.

Afterwards, the school did not report it—because it was just the start of summer vacation, and no one noticed a student had vanished.

Seeing Wang Ya transformed like this, the fennec fox dared not investigate further, afraid its own curiosity might cost it its life.

"So Wang Ya, at the start of summer vacation, used her own knowledge to explore with classmates and found an ancient tomb. They triggered its security traps—and that’s what caused this?"

"Is the object in the palm of that venomous scorpion claw the cause of Wang Ya’s mutation?" An Sheng, after a moment’s thought, did not speak in human language—instead, he communicated through soft chirps to the fennec fox.

The matter they discussed involved ancient spirits’ research and practical application of spirit particles.

Because Wang Lei and his wife were present, An Sheng refrained from using human speech.

"Maybe? I don’t know," the fennec fox replied listlessly.

"By the way."

After scanning both the fennec fox and Wang Ya, An Sheng suddenly remembered something and asked the fennec fox: "There’s a question I’ve always been curious about."

"I tried communicating with Wang Ya—but it was extremely difficult."

"How do you make Wang Ya obey you? From what I know of spirit beasts, your strength could never possibly have broken her will the way I did."

After learning about Wang Ya’s story, An Sheng turned to the fennec fox with another question.

"Making friends," the fennec fox replied, as lifeless as a salted fish. "I don’t have much power—but I’m cute, so I can make friends with all kinds of creatures."

"Maybe because I’m weak, I can perfectly blend into any spirit beast group."

The human society-specialized fennec fox indeed lacked exceptional strength—but it possessed a unique ability similar to Bai’s “wolf pack trait.”

Yet the fennec fox wasn’t quite sure how to describe its own special ability.

It usually called it “making friends.”

Of course, it could also be called “four-legged succubus.”

"Oh? Making friends? Try it on me," An Sheng asked curiously.

"Can’t do it—I already tried. ‘Big Brother Fuli~’—you just made me call you Dad. There’s a huge generational gap. My ‘making friends’ doesn’t work on you," the fennec fox said.

Mentioning the “making friends trait,” visible resentment welled up on the fennec fox’s face.

I called you brother.

You still want me to call you Dad?

What kind of twisted fox are you?

The fennec fox had never seen anything so deranged besides Wang Ya.

"Blame me? Is it my fault I like humans?" Hearing the fennec fox’s complaint, An Sheng sneered, letting out a series of grunts.

"Now, let’s drop that. Since I’ve agreed to your terms, and you know about the lumberjacks—"

"I want you to help us work together to restore Wang Ya to human form."

An Sheng looked around and said:

"If this were just a rogue spirit beast or a simple human villain, I wouldn’t bother myself."

"But your whole family is evil, your spirit beast is evil—sending you straight to prison feels inappropriate."

"You must return all ill-gotten gains, then legally establish a fund and personally clean up every mess you’ve made—wipe every dirty ass clean—and help our Qinling fox clan’s ecological development."

"Otherwise—"

"Master Fuli might have to pick up a hoe and bury you all underground, becoming an old fox farmer."

"Just say it—do you want to become a fox radish, or do you want to shovel manure?"

An Sheng said to the fennec fox.

"The second basement level has medical equipment that can detect the foreign object inside Wang Ya," the fennec fox said.

After understanding the full story, An Sheng paused, then summarized the entire affair.

So you dumped a foreign fox into Qinling, usurping the ecological status of our native foxes?

Send you to the sewing machine?

First, go get those foxes back!

Isn’t this your “making friends” trait?

Perfect—anyone who sees a fox can instantly identify its household registration. You’re the perfect people for this job. Refuse to volunteer, and I’ll call Wang Qiqi to lock you all up.

Like catching technicians—we’ll cram you all into a minivan.

(End of Chapter)